When it comes to the history of fluxus it is best to think about and study it as little as possible. History has very little to do with fluxus.
All products of fluxus activity are intended to be forever present and should never be thought of as being a part of some historical moment. If a fluxus product has a sense of being old or dated or historical it may be seen as a limitation in the design of that particular product. The design of a fluxus object or a fluxus score should always be seen in the context of timelessness and to some degree transcend any specific culture but be more aligned with pop culture on a global level.
If an artist spends enough time with an idea, he should be able to strip it of any sense of being of a certain time or place. Any fluxus object designed with this thought in mind should have the feeling of being of the moment and in the present regardless of when that present moment is. Should a fluxus object, product or score ever appear to be from the past or from some period other than the present, it should be recreated, repackaged, restated or reperformed by a current fluxus artist as a completely contemporary work released from the fashions of time.
Surely some fluxus products will one day fail to seem completely contemporary because the conditions or technology or cultural context has shifted. It will be up to the artists of the moment to restate, redesign, re perform or repackage earlier fluxus works to bring them into the current moment so that, as much as possible, the exact effect of the product is as close to its original effect as possible. If the effect of a work is unclear, unknown or inconceivable for whatever reason, it will be up to the artist of the moment to shelve such enigmatic works and focus on works whose clarity of intention continues to shine through.
A fluxus artist should approach works by previous fluxus artists with the thought that some will sing to the current moment and artist while other works will remain silent. Those that are silent should be thought of as works for another time, context or artist and should be left alone.
Over the years, as more and more works enter the fluxus repertoire, each artist will have a vast amount of material to work with allowing any artist to design a unique exhibition or performance that will satisfy any audience. Brilliance and genius will, in the end always prevail, leading to a broad spectrum of 'classic' works. Many of these preexisting classic works - due to their open ended and archetypical design are open to multiple interpretations and a wide variety of expressions.
Many preexisting fluxus works will pass the test of time and scrutiny, others will not. However, even the silliest of scores will find a resonance at the right moment and with the right personality of artist for whom such works will seem as if written with him or her in mind.
All products of fluxus activity are intended to be forever present and should never be thought of as being a part of some historical moment. If a fluxus product has a sense of being old or dated or historical it may be seen as a limitation in the design of that particular product. The design of a fluxus object or a fluxus score should always be seen in the context of timelessness and to some degree transcend any specific culture but be more aligned with pop culture on a global level.
If an artist spends enough time with an idea, he should be able to strip it of any sense of being of a certain time or place. Any fluxus object designed with this thought in mind should have the feeling of being of the moment and in the present regardless of when that present moment is. Should a fluxus object, product or score ever appear to be from the past or from some period other than the present, it should be recreated, repackaged, restated or reperformed by a current fluxus artist as a completely contemporary work released from the fashions of time.
Surely some fluxus products will one day fail to seem completely contemporary because the conditions or technology or cultural context has shifted. It will be up to the artists of the moment to restate, redesign, re perform or repackage earlier fluxus works to bring them into the current moment so that, as much as possible, the exact effect of the product is as close to its original effect as possible. If the effect of a work is unclear, unknown or inconceivable for whatever reason, it will be up to the artist of the moment to shelve such enigmatic works and focus on works whose clarity of intention continues to shine through.
A fluxus artist should approach works by previous fluxus artists with the thought that some will sing to the current moment and artist while other works will remain silent. Those that are silent should be thought of as works for another time, context or artist and should be left alone.
Over the years, as more and more works enter the fluxus repertoire, each artist will have a vast amount of material to work with allowing any artist to design a unique exhibition or performance that will satisfy any audience. Brilliance and genius will, in the end always prevail, leading to a broad spectrum of 'classic' works. Many of these preexisting classic works - due to their open ended and archetypical design are open to multiple interpretations and a wide variety of expressions.
Many preexisting fluxus works will pass the test of time and scrutiny, others will not. However, even the silliest of scores will find a resonance at the right moment and with the right personality of artist for whom such works will seem as if written with him or her in mind.
